Fractured Emotions
by YoungestCullen8
Summary: Life has been well the last four year. Everyone has gone on to become extremely happy. When one couple is at fate's doors, a tragedy strikes that might break them all. How will the eight friends handle this new outcome? R&R
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note** : Sorry it's taken a week to get a new story up. I've been working on my sister's blanket so it will be done before he goes off to college, and it's time consuming. But I've taken your ideas and kind of rolled them in to one story with some added fun. I hope you like it.

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"Eri! Come here!"

Eri turned at her name being called. She had been living in South Korea with her new family for the last four years which made her total occupation time two and a half years. She had gone through her ups and downs with this small group but the best had come out of it. She now had a loving husband and two wonderful kids.

Things had been going so well. Everyone was now in their thirties and extremely happy. Jun Pyo and Jan Di had their first child last October and fought about how to raise her. Jun Pyo wanted her spoiled rotten. Jan Di wanted her to live as she had. Neither could agree. It was quite humorous to watch. An outsider would say it was all insanity, but it was their family.

Kyu Lee and Ji Hoo had gotten married and were expecting their first child. Eri didn't know why it was so damn important to have a kid within the first year or so of marriage, but her friends had done it. They were keeping quiet about what they were having so it made it harder for everyone else to buy gifts for them. They were even keeping their nursery under lock and key.

Eri and Woo Bin had moved into a split level home with Yi Jeong and Ga Eul. The Song family lived downstairs, and Yi Jeong and Ga Eul had the upstairs. They shared the kitchen and garage, but the men had so many cars it was pointless. So they parked the essential cars in the garage and the others were left at the parents' houses. They spent every breakfast together and dinner if they weren't meeting the others. The house was close to Yi Jeong's studio even if it was further away from Eri's work.

Living together had its perks. There was always someone there to watch the kids if Eri and Woo Bin wanted to go out which they usually did once a week. No one was ever alone. There was always someone at the house piddling around or doing something else. Every now and then Yi Jeong brought his work home and let the kids paint the pots whatever color they wanted. Their table was full of acrylic paint markings from where they missed the pot and papers set before them.

It had been very helpful when Eri had made a big decision. After being partially deaf for twenty-five years, she had consulted with her doctor and made the decision to get cochlear implants. At first, everyone had been a little apprehensive because she had denied the procedure for years due to her body's inability to take anesthesia, but after hearing her out about why she wanted to do it, they reluctantly gave their blessings.

Things had been difficult in the beginning because she had to get used to being able to hear all the time. Some things were new and louder, such as trucks passing by or horns honking. They had to be adjusted because she had spent so much time with hearing aids that she was used to lower frequencies. Jan Di had asked her why she had suddenly decided to get them implanted and her response had shocked them.

She had wanted to hear the heartbeats of her husband and children.

No one had dared defy her after that. This was something they couldn't even if they tried. Eri had never been rash, even when the pristine wall that had held her long-forgotten emotions came crashing down. She thought things through, so for her to make a decision based on a feeling meant she was progressing.

Ga Eul turned a full 360 with a huge smile plastered on her face. "How do I look?"

Eri spun her finger around again and the woman spun slowly. The dress flared at the bottom and the bow strings added a swipe of color. She looked the woman up and down, noticing that the dress accented everything about her figure.

"Why isn't Yi Jeong doing this?" she asked.

"He hates shopping now. He used to love it but as the wedding gets closer, our mothers aren't getting along."

"Why not do it the way Woo Bin and I did?"

"My father would kill us."

"Is his going to be there?"

"I'm not sure."

The doctor made a noise that wasn't very happy. Yi Jeong had finally proposed to Ga Eul after nearly eight years of dating. As soon as they had told their parents, their mothers had started fighting. It would be humorous if Yi Jeong's mother hadn't been making demands from her hospital bed. Yi Jeong didn't put much stock in his mother's words, but Ga Eul's mother was going to be his mother-in-law. He had to respect her for the moment even if he didn't agree with her.

Luckily for Ga Eul, she had three strong women who were already married that could help her. Kyu Lee had an eye for colors and decorations, Jan Di was becoming a shrewd bargainer as she got discount after discount on things they needed, and Eri was just blunt. With all three together, Ga Eul was getting the best wedding any woman would want. Plus she had the best husband-to-be in the world.

Well, one the four best husbands-to-be, but the other three were already taken.

"Thanks for deciding on long bridesmaid dresses," Eri said as she picked at the fabric on the dress.

"Don't thank me. Yi Jeong came up with that idea," Ga Eul replied.

Even after four years there were things Eri didn't talk about. No one had ever seen her in a skirt but they had enough sense not to ask. Nothing was worse than an angry Eri. Yi Jeong obviously knew, but there wasn't much he didn't know about his best friend. Ga Eul had pressed him but he had only said it wasn't his story to tell. She had trusted him and had changed the length of the dress.

The girls at the front of the store started to ooh and aah. Eri and Ga Eul turned as Woo Bin came in holding a little girl on one hip and holding the hand of a little boy. Bin Ji was hard to miss. He had his father's dark eyes but his mother's wild wavy hair. He was their three year old son that almost didn't make it into the world. The little girl on Woo Bin's hip was Ahn Na. Woo Bin and Eri had adopted her when she was born. She was a total daddy's girl and clung to Woo Bin as such.

Bin Ji gave a holler then snatched his hand out of his father's and shot off across the salon. Eri grabbed him and scooped him up. He immediately poked two fingers in her face and lifted her mouth in a fake smile. But the light that lit her eyes was genuine. Normally they were lit by some other fire, but this time it was love for her family that changed her.

Woo Bin made a little noise through his nose. "Wow. Ga Eul you look great. Yi Jeong will lose his mind."

She smiled, crinkling her nose just a bit. "Do you think so?"

He nodded. "Of course, and next time when you do something else I'll drag him out. He's starting to mope around the house when you're gone." He looked at his watch. "Why don't you change so we can meet everyone for lunch?"

Nodding, Ga Eul stepped off the pedestal and followed the attendant back into the dressing room. Eri looked at her husband and shook her head. He smiled the pressed a kiss to the little girl's cheek. She shyly turned her head, pressed her forehead to her temple. Even across the room each holding a child, the air was sizzling with their love and passion for each other.

Ga Eul returned and took Bin Ji from his mother. She allowed him to go, taking Woo Bin's hand as they left the salon. Bin Ji told jokes to his aunt as they walked down the sidewalk. They were meeting at a high-end restaurant that Jan Di had wanted to try. She had pestered them until she had gotten the desired results.

"Did you guys miss not having a wedding?" Ga Eul asked suddenly.

Woo Bin shook his head. "No. Eri doesn't have any family other than grandpere and Francesco and my family is too nuts to care. I got grandpere's permission beforehand. It was cheaper too."

Eri tightened her hand in his but didn't say anything. He left out the pertinent information. It wasn't that she didn't have family; she just didn't talk to her parents since they essentially blamed all their hardships on her. The last time she had seen them was two years ago at grandpere's funeral, but all of them had been there so she hadn't had to talk to them. Now all that was left was Francesco and he was a nutcase.

They arrived at the restaurant and found everyone in a room. Jan Di and Jun Pyo were arguing about Man Ni's crying as everyone else sat around looking completely at ease. As soon as he saw him, Bin Ji wiggled out of Ga Eul's arms and ran straight for Yi Jeong. Now they were two peas in a pod. Bin Ji had Yi Jeong wrapped around his finger. Whenever he was in the studio, he always got to do whatever he wanted. Lately he had been painting pots.

Yi Jeong held him over his head and shook him from side to side. Bin Ji squealed in delight then wrapped his arms around his head. Yi Jeong smiled and pulled the boy to him, patting his back as he held him close.

"How's everything coming?" Ji Hoo asked as they sat down.

Ga Eul made a face. "My mother keeps nagging about my wedding dress and all crazy stuff. She won't lay off of it."

"You should have just done what these two did." He pointed at Eri and Woo Bin who were engrossed in their own little world at the moment. He shook his head. "Seriously these two."

The bride-to-be watched her friends, all of her friends. They had gone through some seriously hard times. Eri hadn't trusted anyone, Woo Bin had had to deal with his brother attacking Ga Eul, Yi Jeong had dealt with his past, Ji Hoo had taken over his grandfather's legacy, and Kyu Lee had gotten over her hatred of Eri. To have eight friends meet up once a week and maybe more for dinner meant they were stronger together.

"Oh!" she exclaimed causing everyone to look at her. "I wanted to give these to you." She passed out three boxes to the women. "Since I'm doing a fancy wedding, you girls need these."

Kyu Lee, Eri and Jan Di took the boxes and untied the ribbons. They pulled the lids off and looked inside. Matching necklaces gleamed out at them. They were all different metals but they were the same design and length. Eri's was silver with her name embossed in Korean. Kyu Lee's was bronze and Jan Di's was gold.

"Ga Eul," Jan Di whined, "you didn't have to do this. It's your wedding. We should be getting you more gifts."

Ga Eul shook her hand in front of their faces. "No, no, no. Don't start that. I wanted to get these for you."

"You know I can't wear it," Eri said. No one was surprised. She had two young children who liked to grab things. Bin Ji was a prime example as he was gnawing on Yi Jeong's tie.

"Just wear it at the wedding. It'll make me happy." She wasn't finished as she took the other woman's hand. Eri flinched at first but a soothing hand on her back told her it was okay. Ga Eul smiled. "I know I shouldn't be asking this but it' already been clarified. Eri, I want you to be my maid of honor, or matron of honor. I know Jan Di has been my best friend forever, but you're important to me and Yi Jeong. It wouldn't be right having Woo Bin as best man without you as maid of honor."

Eri looked over her shoulder at Yi Jeong. The soft smile on his face said he was in agreement with it. She stared at him long enough that he thought she was going to turn them down. In the end she just nodded her head without a word.

Like usual they thought their lives were perfect, but fate has a way of screwing everything up when least expected.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Okay. This story may suddenly pop up in a few days or it may take a week to do. I don't know. I'm still figuring it out as I go, but don't be surprised if only a chapter is posted a day. I have other things to do. But like always, give me your honest opinions and tell me things I did wrong. I'll correct them as I go along. Also, I'm going to continue to make up names for the characters' parents whose names we don't know, like Yi Jeong and Ga Eul.

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Ga Eul stared at her mother as she ran her mouth. There was nothing she was surprised about usually, but this one was the ultimate surprise. All she could talk about was the kids. Bin Ji and Ahn Na were playing in the floor with trucks and dolls and sharing as they went.

Her mother was making a fuss when they weren't even her grandkids. Since they'd been living together, the couples took turns taking care of the kids. It had started out when Bin Ji refused to sleep without being rocked by Yi Jeong. Then when they adopted Ahn Na, she had refused to take a nap unless she was in Yi Jeong's studio or Woo Bin' arms. It made it very hard on them so they just moved in together.

Ga Eul glanced over at Eri. She was sitting with her easel propped up in the corner and a drop cloth on the floor. It looked so weird to see the devices implanted behind her ears, but the contented look on her face these days was enough to ease everyone's doubts. She looked even more at ease than when she first met everyone.

As if she knew she was being watched, Eri glanced over. Like usual, she was covered in paint from the hands up. Even a little was smeared on her face. She looked like she had gotten into a fight with four year old, which was very possible.

After they had adopted Ahn Na, Woo Bin and Eri had sat down and had a very long discussion. It had taken so long they had stayed up all night. Yi Jeong had gone downstairs the next morning to find them sitting across from each other t the table. They hadn't realized he was there for some time because of how deeply in discussion they had been. Like usual, there was no arguing. They were the solid couple when it came to life altering decisions.

No one had understood what that all nighter had been about until Eri came to dinner with the announcement that she wasn't going to be a surgeon anymore. Everyone was shocked because she loved working with patients, but once again Eri surprised them all. She had grown up without her parents because they had lost their minds when she had lost her hearing (that's the way she puts it). She wasn't going to put her career before her family.

It had worked out because Yi Jeong wanted to open a small pottery and art shop but had no one to run it on days he was busy setting up art shows. He tossed Eri right on in along with a young art student. The two ran the studio and the shop without too many issues. When Yi Jeong had time away from the gallery, he popped in and helped work. They sold a lot of the students' paintings and artwork as well as Eri's. Whatever sold, the student or artist got a huge cut of the profit.

"Mom! You can't do that!" Ga Eul scolded.

Her mother shook it off. "I'm curious. Why did you name your child Ahn Na?" she asked Eri.

"Even with Cochlear implants, I have a hard time pronouncing Korean names. So Woo Bin and I decided to name our kids Western sounding names but with Korean spelling. Bin Ji would be Benjamin in France. Ahn Na would be Ana with a short a sound. It's not Anna, but Ana. It's also easier to sign when I turn these down," Eri replied. Even with implants, she still spoke with a muted voice. But they were used to that so it didn't matter.

"How can two couples live here comfortably when both husbands are so rich?"

"Mom!"

"Quit screeching," Eri scolded. "We live together because we're family. I couldn't imagine a day without them."

"You're going to want a place where you can have fun on your honeymoon. You need a newlywed house, Ga Eul. You need a space that is wholly your own. When are you going to start a family? You should have been married a long time ago. Your friends married before you!"

They got into an argument sitting right there. Eri shook her head as she finished painting and started to clean up. Since it had been nearly eight years since Yi Jeong and Ga Eul started dating, everyone thought there would be a wedding a long time ago. But things had gotten between them not too long after Bin Ji was born.

For the first time in years, Yi Jeong had gone to visit his mother in the hospital. She had been in and out since he was a kid but had gone in permanently when he was in high school. He hadn't seen her in four years, but after he returned from Sweden, Ga Eul had pressured him to go. He had and they were on the fast track of mending their relationship. Now he went a few times a week to see her.

But the first few times he went, there had been this nurse that his father had hired. It wasn't a secret that his parents hated each other due to Yi Jeong's father's constant affairs, but Jeong Ha took care of his family even if his mindset was slightly skewed. He had hired this nurse not based on her skills but based on her looks. Her hair was long and always curly and she was the correct size for a Korean woman, whatever that was. At first Yi Jeong wasn't in the least bit impressed because he had a good woman at home, but the nurse had been persistent.

That persistence had won over and Yi Jeong had spent a few nights with her while planning a show. Like usual, he had hidden everything from his girlfriend, telling only the most important person. Woo Bin had listened to him and told him he was stupid, like a good best friend would. Then he had promptly told Ga Eul.

At first she had been very upset, but what woman wouldn't when she found out her boyfriend was cheating? She had told him she was done and to never contact her again. Yi Jeong had listened to her wishes and hadn't contacted her for three weeks. But his mood deteriorated. He didn't paint or make pots or anything. He barely got his show together while he was alone.

So his friends had pulled an intervention and forced them to sit down and talk. They had literally locked them in a room at Jun Pyo's and refused to let them leave. This was way before Eri and Kyu Lee so it had only been Jan Di and the boys. They had argued and fought while locked in that room but in the end they had made up. Jan Di had said that if they hadn't, she was going to rescind her wedding invitation to the two of them.

They had pushed off getting married until they were certain they could absolutely trust and live with each other. It had been tough. Yi Jeong was careless, not really caring where things went because he had never had to put things away. Ga Eul always had a place for things and he kept rearranging things. They fought all the time about putting things away or rearranging the furniture. It had taken eight years; three years of him being in Sweden and five to get everything else on track. Finally they were ready to get married.

The front door opened and in spilled Kyu Lee and Jan Di. An open door policy meant their friends had the pass code to their home and could come and go as they pleased. There were countless times when they woke up and someone would be on their couch. Usually it was Jun Pyo because his company was close by and he had worked all night. Everyone had a change of clothes in the babies' room so they could change when they were cleaned up and fed.

"You're always covered in paint and clay these days," Kyu Lee moaned as she saw Eri across the room.

"Shut up and bring me the mop and bucket," the other woman demanded.

The longer they stayed together the more they found out how bossy Eri really was. She was passionate and spirited, but when away from the crowds of people, she was bossy. It's what made her the perfect person to be the head of their friends. Jun Pyo used to be until he was tamed by Jan Di. She was very frank with all of them even if it took her a little bit to understand what she was feeling.

She cleaned up her workspace but not herself. She didn't mind being covered in colors. Actually it made her happy to be messy. She was the worst chaebol ever because she didn't care about appearance.

They all sat on the couch and Ahn Na toddled over to her. It was nearly nap time and they could see the little Song getting sleepy. She grabbed the blanket lying beside Kyu Lee and curled up in her mother's lap.

"Oppa," she whined. It was the only word she knew at a year and a half and she used it frequently. Bin Ji crawled over and climbed in Ga Eul's lap. They put their heads together and slowly fell into sleep.

"If we move, they'll wake up," Eri warned.

"Has her mother contacted you?" Kyu Lee asked.

Eri shook her head. "No, but we send her pictures. We left it as an open adoption in case she wanted to meet later on. We plan to tell her when she's old enough to understand, and we'll let her decide what she wants to do."

The woman Eri was talking about was a seventeen year old girl who had gotten pregnant in high school. Her parents wanted her to abort it, but she had decided to have it then give it up for adoption. She had met Eri when she went in for a doctor's appointment and the two started talking. Somehow the girl had conned Eri into being the adopter for her child. Normally a couple has to be married for two years before they can adopt. Eri and Woo Bin had barely been married a year and a half when this opportunity fell into their laps.

They had taken care of the medical bills and doctor visits for the girl because she was carrying their new addition to their family. They had dinner together to discuss plans and adoption. Even though it wasn't through an agency, they did everything by the book and made sure everything was legal.

When the baby was born, the girl hadn't wanted to hold her. But when Eri gets something stuck in her head, she usually gets her way. She may have been the legal mother, but the girl was the birth mother. No matter what she was going to hold that baby. Eri made her, and at that moment they came to the decision to have an open adoption.

"To be a mother of two must be fun."

Eri stared at Eul Ya. Ga Eul's mother was a piece of work. She was always so worked up about this wedding that she never thought about what she said. Eri and Kyu Lee looked at each other then shook their heads. They were used to this. Eul Ya wanted her daughter married yesterday with a family of her own.

"Where is my son-in-law?" she suddenly demanded.

"You've been here three hours and you're just now realizing that Yi Jeong isn't here?" Eri confirmed with a raised eyebrow as the women around her laughed. Their fearless leader always said what was on her mind.

They planned for a few more hours. Flowers, wedding cake, gifts, the reception, everything went down on paper. The only ones who knew how to plan a wedding was Kyu Lee and Jan Di, but they were too indecisive to get anything done. Ga Eul and Eri made all the decisions while her mother complained the entire time.

Finally they were able to get Eul Ya out of the house so they could get dinner ready. It was always an affair when the four women were together, but throw in two children and it was absolute chaos. Flour was all over the kids and the girls and it was just a mess, but everyone was laughing to the best of their ability.

Yi Jeong and Woo Bin made an appearance as soon as dinner was ready. Ga Eul criticized the two men for popping up every time food was involved. Woo Bin smiled cheekily as he picked up Ahn Na and gently gnawed at her nose. Bin Ji, jealous of his sister getting all the attention, grabbed hold of his pants leg and hopped up and down until he was picked up.

"He comes in, plays with the children, and then decides that he needs to eat," Ga Eul groused.

Eri nodded in agreement. "What should we do about that?"

"Maybe we should starve him?"

"No, he gets cranky when he doesn't eat."

"No one said you had to starve him of food," Kyu Lee advised. When they looked at her, she smirked which made everyone burst out in laughter.

"You are too cruel about that," Yi Jeong said.

"Don't worry. You're in the same boat. You left me with my mother all day when she came to ask you about the color of your tie," Ga Eul turned on him.

"Well, no lovings for you tonight either it seems," Woo Bin mocked.

"So it would seem. By the way, Eri, I need you at the shop tomorrow. They're delivering the new mirrors and countertops and someone needs to sign for them. I'm going to be in meetings most of the day," Yi Jeong said.

Eri nodded. "All right. Do you want the mirrors hung up or should I wait?"

"Just wait. Since we're rearranging the displays, I need to see what all we're going to put out that way I know which pieces to accent more so they'll sell. Oh, and call Min Ho. His piece sold today. There's a check waiting for him in the cash register."

The two business owners talked a little bit more over dinner but then settled into a nice conversation with everyone else about where the honeymoon should take place.


	3. Chapter 3

Eri stood in the doorway and watched the movers bring in the four full length mirrors into the shop. They had been moving everything out of the way so they could pull the shelves away from the walls and set up the mirrors.

Min Ho stood by the cash register holding Bin Ji and watching the front. He was the part time worker that Yi Jeong had hired when he realized he wasn't going to be able to run the shop all the time. Eri did most of the work for him but she had kids so she couldn't always be there. So he had hired two part time workers and another full time worker.

When Min Ho first started working, he had hit on Eri immediately. Eri wasn't able to distinguish friendship from romantic interest, but she didn't really care since she had Woo Bin. She had simply brushed him off as another person jut looking to get close to her. It wasn't uncommon since she was married to and friends with F4.

Eri had been minding her own business when he had cornered her after hours. She still lived behind the glass wall of emotions, but she couldn't stand a man cornering her. Even Woo Bin didn't do that when he was irritated with her. He knew better. She had shoved him away and stared at him with that cold and calculating gaze she took on when she was so close to knocking open that emotional door.

Luckily for Min Ho, Yi Jeong had walked in at that time. The scolding the shop owner gave the employee was a lot nicer than the one his friend was about to unleash. He explained everything, that Eri was a married woman with two kids and if he wanted to continue working there, he would make sure he knew his boundaries. He also made sure the student knew that if he kept on, Woo Bin wouldn't be as nice.

Since that night, Min Ho had been very respectful. Sometimes even Eri got mad at him for calling her Noona all the time, but he wouldn't stop because Woo Bin and Yi Jeong scared him more than the slip of a woman.

He had taken to keeping an eye on Bin Ji or Ahn Na when they came. Bin Ji loved him because he was able to play horsey, one of the boy's favorite games. He also let him eat whatever he wanted, mostly ice cream and any other sweets he wanted. Eri swore if he did it ever again, she was going to skin him.

Eri watched as the two men brought the mirrors into the front of the shop and set them along the walls. She glanced at Min Ho briefly to make sure her son was taken care of then went back to helping people move things in. As long as no one was crying or pitching a fit, she didn't have to pay attention to what others were doing.

Once the movers were done, she paid them and locked the back door. She was messing around in the back room when she heard Min Ho yell out seconds before there was a crash. It took seconds for her to realize there was no crying.

Cold dread settled in her heart as she remembered there was no one else in the shop but her and Min Ho. And Bin Ji.

She dropped the vase she had and ran to the front. Shattered mirror met her as soon as she came behind the cash register. She rounded the counter and icky redness covered the floor. She stared at it for a moment before she followed the flow to the source.

Min Ho was holding Bin Ji with his shirt covering his head. Blood stained the material. Eri wasted no time, emotions shutting off even though it was her son that was injured. She grabbed the gauze and tape and returned to the show room. Taking Bin Ji from Min Ho, she carefully wrapped his head and taped it. She checked his little body to make sure there were no other wounds and set him back into Min Ho's lap.

"Call an ambulance," she ordered.

Min Ho didn't have time to argue as he pulled out his phone. His fingers slipped on the smooth surface as he tried to dial resulting in Eri dialing for him. He spoke quickly and succinctly, and it wasn't too long after that the ambulance arrived. The men took the little boy away. Eri looked at Min Ho.

"Go with him. Your arm is cut and needs to be tended. Call Woo Bin or Yi Jeong. They'll meet you there," she said.

He stared at her for a moment before he followed her orders. She watched him leave with cold detachment. She could feel something right under the familiar coldness but she couldn't grasp it.

She needed to clean the showroom up. She walked into the back room to grab the broom and dust pan. When she returned she just started sweeping up the broken glass. With the glass cleaned away, she grabbed a bucket of water and a scrub brush and went to work on the blood.

Yi Jeong ripped open the front door and stared in shock. Blood ran almost black in his floor. He looked around to see what had caused it and saw the shattered mirror. Then he saw the woman sitting in the floor.

Cautiously he crossed to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. When she turned her gaze to him, his heart clenched. The fragile door that held all those raging emotions was cracked and he could see what was about to come out.

Not caring that his thousand dollar suit was going to get ruined, he dropped to his knees and pulled the woman into his arms. Eri never hugged back but this time her arms went around him. She held her bloody hands away from his back as she buried her face in his shoulder.

Yi Jeong held back the tears as agony ripped through his best friend. He knew she was starting to panic. Bin Ji was her only natural son that she had almost lost due to a car accident. He was the one thing that proved that no matter how hard life tried to kill you, you always could make something good.

"Eri, we have to go to the hospital," he whispered. "We have to know what's going on. You have to get it together. Come on."

He pulled her to her feet and walked her out the door, locking it behind him. He put her in the front seat of his car and walked around to the driver's side. Not really caring that he was breaking all kinds of traffic laws, he sped to the hospital they would take him.

As he hit a red light he looked over at Eri. She was staring at her hands, her face completely blank. It was then he realized he should have helped her wash the blood from them before loading her in the car. She looked like she had been in the accident instead of her son.

When they arrived, he bailed out of the car quickly and pulled her from it. He led her into the lobby and to the elevator. He wanted to speak but the look on Eri's face told him she wouldn't hear anything he had to say.

They stepped out onto the fourth floor and saw Woo Bin immediately. He was talking to one of the doctors. He looked at them then, his mouth dropping as he saw his wife. Yi Jeong had to wave him off because he knew the moment he touched her she would react violently. She was barely holding all those emotion in.

"So you were the one who stopped the bleeding," Dr. Kim said. Eri looked at him. "I should have known your handiwork when I saw it. He's lost a lot of blood and we had to put him into a coma. Since I knew it was your son, I made sure to note that he might have a hard time staying asleep. He has a broken clavicle and fractured wrist. But the most concerning part is the fracture to his skull. The only thing that saved that child's life was the young man who came in with him."

"What do you mean?" Yi Jeong asked.

"There were huge mirror shards in that young man's back. I think when it fell he covered the boy up with his body, but he miscalculated a little. He slammed his head down to protect it but in doing so he fractured his skull and scratched it on the glass. The glass had to be falling fast because it was a split decision."

"Is there anything we can do?" Woo Bin asked.

"The swelling in his brain needs to go down. Right now we just have to play the waiting game."

"Eri!"

Woo Bin called her name as she took off down the hallway. The two men followed her, leaving Dr. Kim to watch after them. There was only one place she would go in the hospital after leaving the pediatrics floor.

She got a head start on them, so by the time they made it down one flight of stair she was already down another. She bolted through the door of the first floor. By the time they got to her, she was already in one of the recovery rooms.

She and Min Ho were staring at each other. The young man's mouth opened slowly as he stared at her. It was obvious he had never seen her in this manner. There wasn't much holding the door closed on those dangerous emotions.

Min Ho looked about ready to say something but the second he saw the blood all over her clothes and hands he frowned. He searched her face for something but it wasn't there. It wouldn't be.

"Is he all right?" he whispered.

Eri, who wasn't used to being the one who couldn't control what was around her, dropped to her knees as she took his hands. He looked surprised at first, but agony tore through him. He looked up at Yi Jeong and Woo Bin, begging them to help.

"We can't touch her," Woo Bin said. "She's barely keeping it all in. Last time something happened like this she destroyed a painting she and Yi Jeong had worked on."

"She's terrified," Yi Jeong explained. "Bin Ji is her only biological child and he will be her only natural child. He holds a special place in her heart. She doesn't know if he's going to make it."

Min Ho took her hands and pulled her closer. He made her look up at him. The emotions roiling through the golden depths tore at him once again.

"Noona, he's going to be okay. If I harmed him more by trying to save him, I'm sorry. I didn't want him to get all cut up like I did. I'm sorry." His voice came out choked. "You need to go home and get cleaned up. You need to rest. You can't be at the hospital looking like this. They may think you work here again." He looked up at the men. "What did the doctor say?"

"He's in a coma but they're not sure how long he'll stay under because he may not take chemicals very well. He might have inherited that from her." Woo Bin motioned to Eri who was now sitting on the bed. "They need the swelling on the brain to go down. Before you get all mopey, his injuries could be worse if you hadn't done what you did. I'm thankful for that."

"She may not be though," Yi Jeong muttered.

Min Ho asked some more questions, some of them about if he was going to be able to work at the shop. Yi Jeong put all of that to rest by telling him his job was safe.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, Eri stood and left the room. No one stopped her; no one could if they tried. Min Ho looked at Yi Jeong who shook his head. Now wasn't the time for any of it.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: So I've been listening to "Chok Chok" by Super Junior D&E, and I got to say that I have no idea why I laugh every time. It probably because every time I watch a video of it at a Super Show, Donghae and Eunhyuk are running around with those springy antennae headband things on and Heechul is jumping around in a Kimono. I die every time I hear it. But that has nothing to do with story. I'm just putting my playlist out. This is what I write to.

Anyway, this story is going to be short as of now because I'm not getting any inspiration at the moment. I know what I want to happen this chapter and in the end but I haven't figured the in between bits yet. Any help would be appreciated, but it could also lead to another story.

Also! I have a correction to make. Thanks to a lovely review, I now know the real name of Yi Jeong's father. I made up a name because it was so hard to find him. I had to go back and rewatch the episodes where he is. But his name is changed here and will be throughout the rest of the story(ies). Thanks, **jayjayzek**!

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Ga Eul sat on the couch with Ahn Na as Woo Bin made dinner. It had been three days since Bin Ji had gotten hurt. The swelling on his brain had decreased but not by much. His little body was bruised and swollen from Min Ho's falling on him, but he didn't seem to be in too much danger other than the brain. He was going to be staying in ICU from now on.

Woo Bin's family and Min Ho had been taking turns keeping vigil at the boy's bedside. When they found out that Min ho had saved their grandson from even worse injuries, Woo Jun and Ka Lee had taken care of all of his medical bills. They had even brought him food whenever they knew he was going to be there. Since Woo Bin had to work, they alternated who would come in at what time and who would stay overnight.

While everyone was worried about the four year old boy in the hospital, Eri was scarce. She rarely came home and no one had seen her at the hospital since the day Bin Ji was brought in. No one had seen her, even Yi Jeong who knew her habits best when she was in a state of duress.

On the surface it seemed like Woo Bin didn't care, but underneath he was worried. He was the only one Eri talked to and that was through text only. She never told him where she was, only that she was fine. Everyone knew she wasn't fine but she wasn't talking to anyone to let them know that.

His heart hurt. His son was in the hospital and his wife was MIA. Nothing about this situation felt right, but there was nothing he could do about it. Not understanding what made his wife tick was the hardest part of his marriage. One minute she's making leaps and bounds and the next she's back in her shell. He couldn't keep up with it so he tended to take a step back more than he should.

Yi Jeong walked into the house caked in clay. He kicked off his shoes at the front door and pulled off his apron to toss beside them. He walked over to Ga Eul and kissed the side of her head. He ruffled Ahn Na's hair playfully then went into the kitchen to see what Woo Bin was up to.

He pulled a cucumber off the cutting board and popped it in his mouth. "Where's Eri?"

Woo Bin shook his head as he dumped vegetables into the pan. "I don't know. I haven't heard from her today."

Yi Jeong sighed and frowned. Frustrated as he was, he knew better than to go out guns blazing. Not paying attention to what his family was saying, he put on a clean pair of shoes and left the house. There was no point in taking the car so he just walked to the studio.

The night air was hot so his skin moistened immediately. He was soaked by the time he walked the five minutes to the studio. The lights were on and the door unlocked so he walked right on in.

Ji Hoo looked at him from the doorway. He was pleasantly surprised to find him there when no one else had known. He gave him a look that clearly asked what was going on.

"I followed her from the hospital. She stopped in to talk to Bo Na then left before anyone saw her. She's been staying here after you leave, and leaving before you come in. It's really smart to hide in plain sight," he whispered.

They watched in silence as Eri dimmed the lights. Super Junior started blaring from the speakers as she stood in the middle of the room. They couldn't see what she was doing at first, but as she moved around the tarp covered floor, the realized she was working on something.

It was a glass box. She was walking around it with a hammer and nail and tapping the glass gently in random spaces. They watched the spider cracks spread out across the pristine structure.

Satisfied, she tossed the tools away and grabbed a bucket of paint as Super Junior's Donghae and Eunhyuk sang about Chok Chok. Ji Hoo watched as she took paint and smeared it over the glass. The cracks absorbed the thick material and made the glass even more in depth.

Without warning, she picked the hammer up and shattered the box. Glass and paint flew everywhere, bright colors shining through the dim light. She didn't move for a long time even as glass sat on her shoes and the floor.

The song changed to something slow and more intimate. One of them should have probably should have gone in because what she did next stunned them both. She took one of the vases she had made and tossed it at the wall. It was followed by a few more plus a couple of bowls and a flat disc she had randomly made one day.

"Why does she always tear up my studio?" Yi Jeong mused.

"Because you made it a safe haven. None of us come here when we know she's upset. Except for you and her, we don't have a key for the building. Why wouldn't she go home?" Ji Hoo wondered.

"I'm there. I'll know immediately when something is wrong. Have you seen her at the hospital at all?"

Ji Hoo shook his head. "This is the first time. Bo Na is in charge of night shift lately and she said Eri comes in at like two in the morning. Min Ho has been staying overnight recently, but he doesn't see her either. It seems she is very stealthy about all of this."

Yi Jeong sighed again, this time resting his head on the doorjamb. There was nothing that flabbergasted him more than this side of Eri. She always kept things internalized but showed them in her work. Happiness, sadness, annoyance, anger, it all came out in the paintings or the clay. But this was new. He had only seen her destroy one piece of artwork since he had known her and that was years ago.

When the dust cleared, they watched her lay on the dirty table with one foot propped up. She scratched around the cochlear implants lodged in her skull.

"You know," she said aloud suddenly, "I want to reverse this. Maybe it's better to be deaf once again. I have never regretted anything in my life. Not losing my family, giving up my job, moving to Korea and getting married, but this," she pointed to her ears, "this I regret."

Both of them moved into the studio as she continued talking. "Since I've gotten these implanted, I don't feel like me. I don't feel like Song Eri. I feel like I'm someone else. The silence was blissful. I could disappear into for days and not care."

"That's selfish," Ji Hoo scolded. She rolled her head to look at him. "You have a family to take care of. Your son is in the hospital."

"Think about it for a moment, Ji Hoo," Yi Jeong stopped him. "We've all wondered what was going on. Eri normally is very quiet and reserved, but lately it's been even worse. You've had your hands full with Kyu Lee and your baby arriving so you haven't seen everything. What's been going on? You know the confidence of this space. You can say anything you want here and it won't leave. It's like Las Vegas."

"It's only been a year since I've had these implanted, but for the last few months I've had constant migraines. They get so bad I can't even go out, much less stay with my kids."

"What did your audiologist say?" Ji Hoo asked as he stretched out beside her.

She shook her head. "He said there was nothing I could do. That was two weeks ago. I think I'm better off going back and having them removed."

"What made you think of this suddenly?" Yi Jeong questioned although he was certain he knew the answer.

"Bin Ji. It was when I was wrapping his head after he cut it on some glass. Head wounds bleed more than everything else. It made me wonder how much I bled when they did these." She touched the devices once again. "Then I remembered I hadn't taken anything for the headache but when I went to get it, I saw blood all over my hands."

"What is going on here? Is it something that I may want to be part of?" All three looked over as Yi Jeong's father walked further into the studio. Yi Jeong slid off the table and met him halfway. "What? Are you keeping me from the party?"

"Now is not the time to be doing this," Yi Jeong hissed.

"I have never formally introduced myself," his father said, completely bypassing him and going straight for Eri. Ji Hoo stood and crossed his arms over his chest. "I can't greet my son's lover?"

"She's Woo Bin's wife, Mr. So," Ji Hoo stated icily.

"All the more reason for me to introduce myself." He looked over the young man's shoulder and cringed. "What in the world are those things?"

"Father!" Yi Jeong shoved him away from his friends. "Those are cochlear implants. They help hearing impaired people hear."

Recognition lit up his father's face. "So this is the woman who helped you make the wash basin and pitcher. I wondered who could have such lovely hands to rival my son's. Now know it was a woman whose hands matched her face." He smiled. "My name is So Hyun Sub. I am Yi Jeong's father."

Yi Jeong didn't like the look Eri gave his father. He had seen it one too many times before and it always led to an altercation of some sort. She slid off the table and stepped up beside Ji Hoo. They were nearly the same height when she stood straight up.

"So you're the father who doesn't know how to keep a woman happy?" she said. She punctuated that with full look over. "Unfortunately I don't see anything special about you so why would I want you to join my party? If we're clearly having fun without you, why should we ruin that?"

Ji Hoo had to keep a straight face even when Yi Jeong couldn't. There was that mouth once again. Even when she was having a hard time in her personal life, Eri could always find time to put people back in their places. Hyun Sub had instilled in his son the value of a good looking woman. Yi Jeong had finally gotten away from it when he met Ga Eul but his dad still thought that it was the best thing from him.

Hyun Sub made a move towards her. Ji Hoo grabbed her arm to pull her back but she pulled out of his grasp. He met Yi Jeong's gaze over his father's shoulder and asked what he should do. The other man shrugged. They were at a loss.

But one thing was for certain. All that pain and anger were firmly behind closed doors. The Eri that stared out of that face was the Eri they knew; the unfeeling, rock-solid woman who took everything head on.

"I'm pretty sure if I begged nicely I would be able to get him to do whatever I wanted. That includes using this place as a secret love nest. I'm not sure how much you've heard, but these guys do whatever I ask. My temper is legendary amongst them. How do you think I got Woo Bin? It wasn't because of my personality."

Yi Jeong plugged his nose to keep the snort from coming out as he choked on his laughter. Leave it to her to come up with the crudest thing ever to say to his father. She had a bad habit of baiting people, but they weren't too smart not to fall for it.

Unfortunately his father was the same way. He rose to the bait way too easily. He stepped into her personal space and almost pressed his nose into her neck. He raised a hand to run his fingers through her hair. Yi Jeong instantly what she was going to do the minute he spoke.

"Why don't you come with me?" Hyun Sub had no shame.

The smile that spread across Eri's face was humorless. In the blink of an eye, she grabbed Hyun Sub's hand and twisted until it was halfway up his back. Woo Bin had taught her well. After applying pressure, she shoved him away.

"Do you really think I'd be with a man who's been had by almost every young socialite? You've really lost your mind," she quipped. She looked at Ji Hoo. "I'm going home. I've got some things to talk about with Woo Bin."

He nodded. "Good idea. Call me tomorrow if you need anything."

They watched her leave, waiting until she was out of the building before they turned their ire on Yi Jeong's father.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** So I've been up all night but this chapter came to me in a dream when I did sleep. Amazing how crazy my life can be for you guys. Also I find myself writing formally when writing these author's notes instead of using my southern slang. It's really weird.

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Woo Bin lay snuggled in bed with his wife on one side and daughter on the other. It was the first night in nearly a week since Eri had been home and he didn't realize how much he'd missed this. Curled around her, toes arching over hers, her warm body pressed into his side. He never realized how much he loved her until she wasn't there.

But he didn't fault her. He knew he had her own way of dealing with emotional trauma. Most parents would blame each other, but never the two of them. They were too in sync to give up on each other. Even when their child was in the hospital, there was no blame going around.

But he knew Eri blamed herself for Bin Ji's accident when it wasn't her fault. She had been there with him when it had happened. She should have known that he would have gone to play with the mirror because he liked playing with the baby reflected there. He always had. She shouldn't have left him with someone he barely knew. These were all the things Woo Bin knew she was thinking about.

He hadn't asked her anything when she had walked in early that morning. He and Ahn Na had already been in bed. She had come in, changed clothes and climbed in bed with him. She had taken her spot and settled in. The hardest part had been not moving his daughter so he could hold his wife.

His family would be complete once he had his son back. Bin Ji was a big part of the family. He was the firstborn and the only son. Nothing could replace him. He didn't know what he'd do if he had to make the ultimate decision if nothing improved.

Eri moved beside him, adjusting her head and wedging her knee between his. He felt her breath on his skin, and it didn't even cross his mind that she probably hadn't brushed her teeth. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the scents of paint and clay and cologne he recognized. Ji Hoo must have realized what was going on before anyone else.

She got up after a few minutes and left the room. Frowning, Woo Bin gently placed Ahn Na in the bed and followed after her. Normally he was a sight to see in his designer clothes and his hair gelled, but at home he was Woo Bin and he didn't have to wear a shirt if he didn't want. He didn't sleep in shirts so when he walked out into the living area, he was shirtless.

He sat at the table and watched as she set the kettle on the stove. Once again he let the silence sit between them, knowing she would talk to him as soon as she was ready. This had been their relationship for four years, almost five. Waiting was always the best course, even if it made him look weak.

In the past when a girl had refused to talk to him, he would have left her and found another girl, repeating the process when that one did the same. But with this woman, he had learned patience due to her emotionless state. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to him; it was that she couldn't. She didn't know how, so it was a learning process for both of them.

To his surprise, she crossed the space between them and grabbed his hands. He stood at her urging and was almost knocked back at the force in which she hugged him. She rested her head under his chin even though it meant she had to bend her knees a little. Not really caring what it looked like to outsiders, he wrapped his arms around her and stood still. He twisted the ends of her hair around his finger.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked.

"Listening to your heart." It was simple and sincere, but it held an underlying emotion he wasn't sure how to interpret.

Just then the kettle whistled. Not wanting to break the contact he had finally gotten, he wrapped one arm around her and urged her towards the stove. He turned the kettle off with the flick of his wrist. He turned and leaned his butt against the counter, pulling her towards him, but instead of holding her close, he pushed her away so he could look at her.

"What's going on?" She looked up at him and he knew instantly that she was going to ask him something he might not have the answer for.

"I don't know if you know this, but since I've had these things, I've been having migraines. They're so bad that I can't even get up sometimes," she explained. "I went to the audiologist and he said there shouldn't be any problems, but he ran some scans and said there was nothing wrong internally."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was easier to deal with it alone instead of having everyone worry. Being in the studio with the lights dimmed worked because it never irritated me."

He brushed the stray hairs that had fallen from her braid away from her face then rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. "What do you want to do?" She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth then looked at him in the most earnest fashion he had ever seen. "You want to have them removed. You know the risks of that."

"I know. I may lose the rest of what little hearing I had. I'm okay with that."

"Are you sure?"

"I have never regretted anything in my life, Bin. I have always taken the things that happened to me in stride. But the second I had these implanted, I began to regret it. Not because I could hear things I so desperately wanted to hear such as my kids' voices and heartbeats, but because I didn't feel like me. I felt like a shell of me all this time."

Woo Bin sighed then pulled her up so he could kiss her. His mouth against hers in such a sweet fashion he never wanted it to end. "I didn't know," he said as he pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers. "When are you going to have it done?"

"How did you know I already set the appointment?"

"Because I know you. You make decisions based on your instincts. You have always done that so all I can do is follow. But even in all that, you always manage to tell me what you're going to do. If I object, which I rarely do, you think twice about it before going through with it. People may say you run the family, but we make decisions together."

She hugged him with such ferocity he thought his ribs were going to break, but he hugged her back, reveling in her once again. He pulled back when he felt her mouth at the sweep between his neck and shoulder. A shudder ran through him at the warmth mixed with the chill of the aircon. She never initiated intimacy.

"You know," he said as he tilted his head back as she kissed right under his ear, "I'm not sure how I'm going to explain this if Ga Eul or Yi Jeong come downstairs."

"Well, our bed's kind of taken at the moment."

Woo Bin laughed then pushed her back even though he didn't want to. "I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with."

He said the wrong thing. She closed herself off from him and turned around. Cursing silently, he caught her shoulder to stop her. Normally she would shrug him off when she was irritated with him, but this time she stopped. He sighed then held a hand up before walking to their room. He came back out and disappeared into the room on his left. When he came back again, he scooped her up and carried her to their room. Dropping her to the bed, he covered her body with his.

"Don't expect to have the night off."

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"Should we cancel the wedding?" Ga Eul asked.

They were all sitting in the waiting room of the hospital waiting on any news. Woo Bin had told them of Eri's decision to have the cochlear implant removed. It had come as a shock to them, but they had respected her decision. Right now they were all worried at how she was going to react during surgery since she didn't have good reactions to anesthesia.

Woo Bin looked over at her. "Don't even think about it. She made this decision long before this. I hate that it's taken until now to realize it."

"But with both her and Bin Ji…"

Yi Jeong put his hand on her. "Dr. Kim said Bin Ji is on the mend. The swelling on his brain has gone down and he's able to breathe on his own. It's only a matter of time before he wakes up. Right now we should focus on Eri. Bin Ji will still be there when everything settles here."

The wedding was scheduled two weeks away. Not having the maid of honor there would be a break of tradition. If things went badly, she would be in the hospital longer than the three days the doctor had already set aside. Hopefully Bin Ji would be up and able to move around.

Min Ho appeared in the doorway with Hyun Sub and Woo Jun. Yi Jeong's hand tightened on Ga Eul's as he stared at his father. He would question why he was there but he was close friends with Hyun Sub. They hadn't told Woo Bin what had happened at the studio and they didn't plan on it because his temper would explode. He may be friends with Yi Jeong and Woo Jun may be friends with Hyun Sub, but Woo Bin couldn't stand the man. Knowing that he hit on his wife would piss him off.

"Is it over?" Min Ho asked.

Woo Bin shook his head. "Not yet. I heard a nurse say they had to order more anesthesias because it was wearing off too quickly. I don't know how much longer it'll be. Did my mom take your place?"

"Sort of. He's awake. Bin Ji woke up and he's asking for you."

Woo Bin shoved off the wall almost as fast as the speed of light and headed up a floor. He didn't bother with the elevator as he took the stairs two at a time. He slid to a stop right outside of Bin Ji's room, making Bo Na smile as she came out.

"He's drowsy, but that's to be expected. We won't know if he'll have any brain damage until we do some tests. He's not out of the woods yet, but don't lose hope. It's a good sign that he woke up." She patted his shoulder as he walked back to her desk.

Nervous, he walked into the room. His mother was brushing the curls away from his face as he walked over to the bed. She smiled at him as he sat down.

"Papa," Bin Ji whined. It broke Woo Bin's heart to see his son lying in the hospital bed helpless. "Mama?"

"Mama can't be here right now, baby, but I promise that you'll see her soon. When you do, you have to be careful so you don't hurt her. Do you remember the sign I taught you?" He had a hard time lifting his hands but he managed a few. "That's right. You'll have to use those from now on."

"Ahn Na?"

"She's with Jan Di and Man Ni. I'll bring her by later. You rest, big man. I'll be back later."

Ji Hoo was waiting for him as he stepped out of the room. He had scrubbed in on Eri's surgery simply because he wanted to. He didn't usually make rash decisions like that but he wanted to be sure everything went all right. Luckily he was friends with the audiologist in charge of the case.

"She just came out," he said without any hesitation."So far nothing has gone wrong but we have to wait to see just like with any surgery. Dr. Kang thinks she'll recover as fast as he did before but she has to take it easy. We both know how she is on that."

"What about the remainder of her hearing, the one she didn't lose before?" he asked.

"I won't know anything until she comes in for a checkup at the two month line. She can't lift anything, not even the kids. She can work on clay and whatever other art project and work in the shop, but someone has to be with her at all times to lift things."

"I'll see if Min Ho can be bumped up to full time. He's the one she's worked with the most. I'll talk to Ga Eul about a good nursery school for Ahn Na. It's probably best to get her acclimated to the environment."

"That's probably a good idea. You'll need to teach her sign language as well."

Ji Hoo had to go back to work. Woo Bin looked back into the room to see Bin Ji sleeping. There was no point waking him back up so he went back upstairs. The first person he saw was Yi Jeong as he was out in the hallway talking to his dad. They seemed to be in some sort of argument. He didn't want to interrupt but this was important.

"Hey, is there any way you can move Min Ho up to a full time position when Eri returns to work? He's the one she's worked with the most and until he can get her follow up they don't want her lifting things," he said.

"Yeah, I'll ask him. What are you going to do about the kids?" Yi Jeong asked, his focus completely on the other side of his family.

"I'm going to enroll them in nursery school. The only reason we haven't is because Eri didn't want to. Bin Ji will be starting school next year so we might as well get both of them in. It will be easier on Eri as well since she can't lift anything."

"How's Bin Ji?"

"He's worried about his mom and sister."

Yi Jeong smiled. "You have a good kid."

He nodded. "Excuse me. I have to go see about my wife." He clapped his friend on the shoulder and went to wait in the recovery room.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: So I had sudden inspiration so this story might be a little longer than I thought. Go ahead and start giving me new ideas. I'm thinking of making a story with the new character Min Ho but don't know who I should pair him with.

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Eri's eyes felt heavy as she tried to open them. She couldn't figure out what was going on for the longest, but then she remembered that she was in the hospital. They had gotten smart. Instead of full anesthesia, they used sedation. That was the best bet since it was hit or miss with how long she would stay under with anesthesia. It was something in the compound. Her body metabolized it faster than it did the sedation medication.

She did the first thing anyone did when they woke up. She stretched. She closed her eyes again as she listened. Like it had been for twenty years, she couldn't hear anything. Blessed silence. Even though she had enjoyed hearing for that year, she enjoyed her silence more. It said a lot more than sound did anyway.

A hand clamped over hers. She looked over expecting it to be Woo Bin but it wasn't. It was Hyun Sub. What in the world was Yi Jeong's father doing here? Was he trying to get revenge for her shoving him the other night? If so, this was as good a place as any. The doctors could patch her right up and she could go back to her life.

He said something and she was thankful she couldn't hear. But lip reading was a completely different thing. He said something along the lines of how could a beautiful woman be tied to one man. She really wanted to punch him but her body was lethargic. The sedative hadn't worn off all the way and she felt really heavy.

As he spoke, she wondered again why he was here. Yi Jeong wouldn't be here because the shop would be open and someone would need to be there since she wasn't. School was in session so Ga Eul would be working. Everyone else could barely tolerate the man and the only other person in the hospital was her son.

He talked for a few minutes, obviously not understanding that she couldn't hear. It was an obvious misconception considering she had these white oval shaped covers over her ears.

The door slid open while he was in one of his longer talks. Min Ho walked in and looked sort of mad. That was new. She had never seen the young man mad. He said something to Hyun Sub and the older man turned around sharply. They had a brief altercation before Hyun Sub left, slamming the door so hard it bounced off its tracks.

Eri hit the button on her bed and lifted it up so she could be at eye level as Min Ho sat down. A very smart man, he brought coffee and a muffin. Not particularly hungry, she waved away the muffin but gladly accepted the coffee. Knowing from experience, hospital coffee was the worst.

He fumbled with his hands as he tried to sign something. They shook out of nervousness. She finally placed hers over his and forced him to look at her.

"As long as you're looking at me, I will know what you're saying. Just speak," she said. She deliberately didn't sign because she didn't want him to feel even more inferior.

Sighing, he placed his hands in his lap. "How are you feeling?" She waved her hand from side to side, the universal sign for so-so. "They said the operation went well. You didn't have any issues this time like you did last time."

She smiled at him. "How would you know how it was last time?" A slight blush crept across his skin as he realized what he'd said. "Don't worry. I'm not mad that everyone talks. It's one of the things that makes me happy t be part of this family. No one leaves anyone alone for too long, and if they do, they always come to find us."

"Woo Bin said you have a hard time with anesthesia so everyone was worried."

She watched him fiddle with his hands. He was nervous again. This time she really didn't need to hear what he was saying. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Min Ho was just like Woo Bin in this aspect.

She reached over and took his hand, making sure he looked up at her. "Min Ho, you're a wonderful guy, but Woo Bin is even more wonderful. He was there when I had no one, and he brought me into a world that I knew and know nothing about. It's not just gratitude I feel for him, but pure and unadulterated love. When I think about how I felt when I was with Ji Hoo and Yi Jeong, nothing compares to the sense of security and honesty and fullness I feel when I'm with Woo Bin. It may just be the drugs talking but it's all true."

Min Ho smiled and covered her hand with his. "I know and I would never try to break your family apart. You were so kind to me when I first started working at the shop. Everywhere else I worked thought I was so weird for enjoying art, but you didn't say one thing."

She touched his face, shocking him. "You have to look at me when you speak or else I can't hear you."

Woo Bin was suddenly there, a smile crossing his mouth and lighting up his eyes. "I should be worried that my wife is touching another man so tenderly."

Eri looked up and around. Woo Bin wasn't alone. Yi Jeong and Ji Hoo stood in the doorway and smiled in at the scene. Suddenly she felt like an alien because of the bandages on her ears, but they had seen her in worst states of undress before so it wasn't really an issue anymore.

She focused back on Min Ho. "Look at these three. When I was at my lowest – to the point where I was just drifting though day to day life – these three men reached down and pulled me out of the muck I was stuck in. They didn't criticize me for being a hearing impaired surgeon or an emotionless bitch as I was so often called. They stood by with their hands outstretched in case I needed something more."

She pointed to Ji Hoo. "That man right there, that wonderful doctor saw all the potential I had and took my side no matter what I did. Even if I was completely and utterly wrong, he defended me then would talk with me afterwards. He stuck by me even when I told him to get the hell out of my life."

Her finger went to Yi Jeong. "That one opened his most precious space to me. No one is allowed to mess with the clay and pottery in his studio unless he tells you that it's okay. Somehow he saw what I needed and gave me a key not only to his studio but to something I thought I had long since lost. He gave me a way to express it all and to him I am forever grateful."

Min Ho saw the sudden change in her gaze as she looked at Woo Bin. He had taken a seat on the foot of the bed so he wouldn't disturb this moment. She looked at him with something completely different than she looked at the others.

"And this man, he's done the one thing that no one ever has before. He has given me so much love and support that sometimes I wonder if he's real. He lets me do what I want and always has a gentle way of criticizing me when I make a mistake. But the most important things are he's given me his heart and two beautiful kids that I am so proud of. I have never been so bonded to a person that without him I thought I couldn't breathe."

She wasn't finished. "But you, Min Ho, have given me something I would never understand if it hadn't happened. I know what having a younger brother feels like. I only have an older brother if you don't count those three. So I need a younger one to push around."

Behind him Ji Hoo snorted. "You push us around all the time."

"No," Yi Jeong corrected, "she just does what she wants whether we like it or not."

"But we follow her like puppies. It's worse than when Jan Di was dating Jun Pyo. We blindly follow because we're worried," Woo Bin added.

Min Ho looked at the four in the room. He understood what it meant to pick your family. He had been born into a large family of four kids. He had two older brothers and an older twin sister but none of them were very close. There was twelve years between him and his oldest brother and nine between him and the middle brother. His sister was more into science and didn't understand the process of art so she dismissed his passions. His brothers worked in his father's company so they didn't really see what he did.

But here were four people who understood immediately. From the same types of backgrounds, they had found each other and had formed this tight knit family that you needed an invitation to enter. They seemed to be more open to people who were a little weird like they were.

"Oh, Yi Jeong, your dad came by. He was here when I walked in," Min Ho said.

The mood in the room dropped as Yi Jeong looked ready to murder the man. Ji Hoo clapped a hand on his shoulder to keep him from losing his temper. Eri looked at Woo Bin who shrugged. Both were at a loss as to why Hyun Sub would show up.

"Is he still mad?" Ji Hoo asked.

"No, he's just being his usual self. He came by the studio that night to ask if I was really getting married or if it was just a ploy. He came with Woo Bin's dad the other day because they were out eating for work. When Woo Jun said he was coming by, Father tagged along. I'm not quite sure why he was here this morning," Yi Jeong replied. His face and ears were steadily turning red.

Ji Hoo turned his attention to Min Ho. "Was he saying anything weird?"

"Not really, no. He just said that he hoped she got better and that he'd see her at the wedding. I didn't hear the first part and I don't know how long he was here before I came in," Min Ho explained. "She was looking over his shoulder so I don't think she paid attention to him."

"He did tell her the cochlear implants were ugly on her," Yi Jeong said.

Woo Bin finally started putting pieces together. "You were at the studio the night she came home and told me she was having surgery. Was your dad there as well?"

"He started saying things about how it was obscene to have a party in my studio. Eri's mouth took over before I could say anything. She fanned the flames higher."

Eri stared at him. "Thanks for that. I thought we weren't telling him."

"We never made that promise," Ji Hoo said with a slight smile.

She wanted to punch them but couldn't get out of the bed. "He'll think twice before he says something again. I almost broke his wrist."

Woo Bin laughed at that. "I would have paid to see that."

"She wasn't very nice to him. I think she's one of the first women to turn him down."

Eri had zoned out the second she saw Bo Na lurking behind Ji Hoo. Either the doctor was very obtuse or he just wasn't paying attention, but he didn't seem to know she was behind him. He jumped slightly when she touched his shoulder. She eased him as she slid into the room.

"I wasn't sure if Woo Bin had told you, but Bin Ji is awake." She laughed when the mother slid her gaze to her husband. He looked sheepish. "He's doing well. He's still on liquids until his body is a little stronger. He's been asking for you since Min Ho left this morning, but I told him mama had something important to take care of before she could visit him. He said ok and went back to sleep."

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked.

"Two days," Ji Hoo answered. "We thought it best to keep you sedated for the first couple of days you were here. We started weaning you off it last night knowing your body would metabolize while you were asleep. Bin Ji woke up on the day of your surgery."

"I hate you."

She didn't really but she wanted to be there when he woke up. Instead she was lying in a hospital bed as well. That stung worse than the stitches in her head. Irritation flooded her, and she dropped her head back to the pillow to stare at the ceiling, the pain of the action not even registering.

Ji Hoo watched closely, only picking up a piece what she was feeling. Since the night Hyun Sub had showed up, she hadn't told them how she was feeling. That door had been sealed tight, but when pain was evident she was an open book. He shoved off the door and turned right to go down the hall. It took him all of five minutes to do what he planned then he was back in the room.

"Get her things, Woo Bin. We're going to move her and Bin Ji into the same room."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note** : So it's unanimous. You want to see Min Ho in this series. So I'm going to do it. Give me a plotline and I'll work on it.

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Woo Bin stood in the doorway of his room and watched his family sleep. Eri had returned home first and had spent most of the time sleeping. The medicine Dr. Kang put her on made her drowsy so she had to take it easy. She and Ahn Na were always curled up either on the couch or in bed when he got home. He didn't dare wake them up unless it was necessary so he tiptoed around the house.

Yi Jeong had gone to the shop to take over Eri's job for a couple of week. He managed everything that dealt with the gallery at the shop. He also trained the new part time workers who would work on weekend when Eri and Min Ho were off. While he was doing that, he made Min Ho take care of Eri and Ahn Na during the day.

Min Ho was a hoverer it seemed. Eri got mad at him at least three times a day because he wouldn't leave her alone. He got mad right back and was usually successful in getting her take the medicine prescribed. He also found it hard to get her to eat. That had been the normal and Yi Jeong had warned him about that, but it still didn't stop him from getting upset about it. It seemed they just argued for the sake of arguing after that.

Ahn Na loved Min Ho. She was a shy little girl and usually only preferred the comfort of her father, but lately as Min Ho was around more she had taken to him. Woo Bin was a little jealous to see her sitting with him when he came home early. But true to her nature she got right up and toddled over to him.

Three days after Eri returned from the hospital, Bin Ji was released. He too came home and slept most of the day due to his injuries and medicines. Luckily everything was healing nicely. Min Ho still had some issue about the one to fracture his skull, but the little boy still wanted to be close to him. Obviously he didn't hold any grudges.

The most stressful thing was the wedding was fast approaching. There was only four days left until everyone had to be at the church to watch Yi Jeong and Ga Eul get married. Sometimes Woo Bin wished they would just submit their marriage registration and save the ceremony for later. Ga Eul's family had already said they were coming and everything was ready. To postpone it would seem like something was wrong with the couple.

Things were going well. Everyone was healing as quickly as could be expected. They had decided to have family dinners in their house because moving around was painful for those who had just gotten out of the hospital and they couldn't eat too much. Heavy foods didn't sit well on their tender stomachs so they could make something at home that was light and airy for them. This week though they had foregone it because of the hectic preparations for the wedding.

Woo Bin finally walked in the room to change clothes. He was tired of his dress pants and tie now that he was at home. He wanted to be comfortable so he pulled on his favorite pair of sweats and no shirt. He went back into the living room to sit in the chair. He was just about to open his favorite book when Eri emerged. She walked past him to the kitchen but it only took a moment before she was back and curling in his lap like a cat. Book forgotten, he held her to him and sighed contentedly.

Gently he massaged her scalp, paying extra attention the areas around the stitches. They had to shave the parts around where the implants had been so she'd had two bald spots right over her ears. So their hair dresser had come over and literally chopped all her hair off. Now instead of the long wavy hair, it was short, a little shorter than Amber's from f(x). He didn't particularly like it but he didn't have much of a say. Until the stitches came out she had to keep it short.

She placed her head right over his head and stayed still. He wondered if she could hear it. That had been the main reason to get the implants in the first place, but now that they were gone he wondered how much hearing she had left or if she was totally deaf. It didn't matter to him in the least since he was now fluent in sign language but it was a curiosity.

She raised her hand and after several seconds tapped her fingers on his chest right above his nipple. Heat seared him but he ignored it as he realized she was keeping time to his heartbeat. She wasn't hearing it but feeling it. His heart always thundered when she was sitting right next to him whether they were five feet apart or glued together. Having her sitting on his lap caused it to beat wildly, but having her _sit_ on him had it racing like a river.

His heart wasn't the only thing reacting but Ga Eul was in the next room and getting it on in the chair was strictly forbidden. Everyone shared this area so being intimate here would freak anyone out.

Obviously no one told her that because she turned her head and gently bit down on the nipple under her ear. Woo Bin hissed out a breath and gently pushed her away. Normally she would be slightly hurt, but the medicine closed off her emotions tighter than she did.

To make up for what could be perceived as rejection, he gently took her head under her ears and pulled her up so he could kiss her deeply. He wanted to convey how he felt, that he wanted her as she must as she wanted him but that it wasn't the time for it. She seemed to understand and rested her head back under his chin.

"I thought we said intimacy was forbidden in the living room?" Woo Bin looked up to see Yi Jeong standing behind him. His friend waved his hand and sat down on the couch. "Forget about it. I haven't seen you this happy in weeks so I'll let it slide."

"Thanks is not going to be mentioned," he snarked playfully.

"Does it look like I care?"

They both laughed at their normal attitude towards each other. They hadn't been able to joke like this in quite a while so it felt great to be back to their roots. Picking on each other was normal as it always was between best friends. Nothing was off limits, including this.

Yi Jeong looked at Eri, frowning slightly. "It seems so weird to see her hair like this. I'm used to the extremely long waves that she pulled back in a messy ponytail. This is going to take some getting used to."

Woo Bin ran his fingers through the short waves, extremely careful of the stitches. "It'll grow back. Right now we just have to make sure these don't get infected."

The other man nodded then sat down on the coffee table. He sighed then scratched at his head. "Remember when we told you that my father had insulted Eri? Well, that's not all that happened at the studio. I had these glass panels that I had no idea what I was going to do with them. Eri put them together in the shape of a box and when I got there, she was putting spider veins in them. She smeared paint on them of various colors. We thought she was going to stop there and let it dry but instead she smashed the glass box. It was right after Bin Ji went into the hospital."

Woo Bin rested his head against Eri's and watched his friend. "It was more traumatic for you than it was for her, wasn't it?" Yi Jeong looked up at him. "You felt helpless at that moment because there was nothing you could do. She wouldn't let you touch her unlike she had in the past. Yet she was in your space and there was no way to help. Maybe that glass box was everyone else's emotions and not hers."

"What do you mean?"

"She showed us what she was feeling the night she disappeared. So maybe she constructed that glass box to put everyone's emotions in just show she could destroy it. That was also the night she told me she was going to have the implants removed."

"Eri has always thought more about us than herself."

"That's why I think she channeled all that she was feeling into that glass box and pretended it was our emotions. Once she shattered it, it was gone for her. She didn't need to feel it anymore. That's why she came home."

Yi Jeong had never thought about it like that. They always said Eri was the strongest one of them. She was quiet, reserved and very observant. She saw things most people would miss and catalogued it for a later date when it became important. She was very intelligent and knew a little bit about everything. Her strongest point was she could pull at people's emotions.

But that strength was also the weakness. Because she pulled at people's emotions, it all overwhelmed her. She couldn't handle it and needed to find an outlet before it consumed her. Sometimes she went to the studio or she sat at the house and painted. If she was really upset, she made a pot or something really random. They'd had to buy new silverware and chopsticks because she had super glued them to a cork board. Everything she felt went into that piece of art.

Both men stopped talking when she shifted. Woo Bin's palm engulfed her entire neck as he held her close. He wasn't about to let her go. He had spent a total of eight days without her and that was too much for him. If he could be attached at the hip to her, he would be. He spent a week not being able to make love to his wife or hold her at all. He had to watch his son lay in a hospital bed and his daughter wonder what was going on.

"Stop thinking so hard," Eri muttered. She lifted her head and rubbed at her eyes. "You tighten your hands when you think too hard."

"Sorry," he replied before he pulled her up to kiss her. His mouth moved over hers and his body roared to life.

Yi Jeong grabbed his friend by the hair. "Okay, freaky, not in the living room." There was a knock at the door. The two men looked at the door with mirrored frowns. "Who the hell would be here at this hour?"

He didn't wait for a response as he went to open the door. He didn't have a chance to stop him as Hyun Sub shoved his way into the house. Yi Jeong tried to grab his arm to pull him back, but his father shoved past him. Eri stood up from Woo Bin's lap and stared at the man who dared interrupt their evening. She looked over his shoulder at Yi Jeong and the man begged with his eyes not to start a yelling match.

Hyun Sub looked the woman up and down. He noted her sleep filled eyes and laggy body stance. As his face continued up, he noticed she cut her hair, but he'd seen that when he'd gone to the hospital. She looked much better with long hair.

"No wonder you always want to head home early after meetings," he said. "You have two pretty ladies waiting on you."

Yi Jeong smacked himself in the head lightly. Eri's tired face turned to stone as she read the meaning behind his father's words. The man thought all women would be interested in him because he had money and the ability to get what he wanted. He was able to make or break artists. He thought if he put on his best smile and talked sweet that he would sway a woman to his side.

But he was going up against the wrong woman. Eri wasn't a Korean chaebol like they were. She was French aristocracy married into the Korean high society. She was down to earth and very comfortable in her environment. She was good to everyone even if they talked shit about her, but if you pissed her off, you were in trouble because she would unleash her tongue. And a tongue lashing from her would leave you bruised for days.

Woo Bin wrapped his hand around his wife's bicep and held her next to him. She wasn't physically violent but verbally was another thing. He figured keeping her anchored next to him would help a little.

"What are you suggesting?" she asked. She tested Woo Bin's strength but he was rock solid.

"You live in a house with two men. What do you think I'm suggesting? I think these boys have done well. They have women they're happy with, but are the women happy with them? There's this thing called swinging. You should try it."

"I think you're insinuating that Woo Bin isn't a good lover. Or is it that you think a woman should come at your beck and call simply because she is a woman and you're a man? Just because you still live in an area where it is mostly male dominated in the work environment doesn't mean you can be a chauvinistic jerk who uses women faster than he uses underwear."

"You don't know anything about it."

"I heard and saw the way Yi Jeong and Ga Eul have worked through his infidelity. There's always going to be that little thought in the back of her mind as she asks herself whether or not he's cheating. I don't believe in once a cheater, always a cheater because some cheaters reform and monogamous. I know. I married one. But there is a fine line between admiring your son for getting out of it and rubbing his nose in it that he can't have any woman he wants because he's married. It never occurred to you that he's happy being a one-woman kind of guy. You're too busy looking for your next conquest to actually see what your son is doing."

The more she talked, the angrier Hyun Sub became. She was hitting home everything Yi Jeong and his father had fought about. Yi Jeong hadn't said anything about it to her, but she still knew. It showed how close the two were.

Woo Bin stepped forward slightly as Hyun Sub sought to come towards her. "You're barking up the wrong tree if you think you're going to lay a hand on her. I'm not your son. I don't like you nor do I have to tolerate you in my house. I'll beat the snot out of you if you touch her."

"One last thing," Eri said, once again drawing the attention of every male. She glanced at the staircase. "As of now, you're uninvited from the wedding. Don't let me see you there."

Hyun Sub laughed. "What makes you think I'm going to listen to a deaf and mute woman who thinks she can boss my son?"

Yi Jeong wasn't aware his fist shot out until he saw his father hit the floor and his knuckles throb. If there was one thing he didn't tolerate it was people making fun of his best friend's disability. She couldn't help it.

"You'll listen to me. Don't bothering showing up," he said. He watched as his father picked himself up off the floor and left the house. He turned to his friends. "That felt good."

Woo Bin smiled. "It's about time you did that."

Yi Jeong smiled then looked at Eri. "What made you decide that?"

She turned her full attention to the staircase. Both men looked up to see Ga Eul standing there watching. She smiled sadly at them before turning to go back to her room. Yi Jeong said good night and went to make sure she was okay. Woo Bin hugged Eri then escorted her to their room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** This is the final chapter. I'll get to working on Min Ho's story…after I figure out what the plot is. Again, ideas are welcomed.

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A week later everyone was gathered at the venue for Yi Jeong and Ga Eul's wedding. The bride and groom were happy to see their friends and family show up, except for Yi Jeong's father of course since he had been banned. His mother had made it with the help of his older brother. She still relied on a wheelchair to get around but that was okay as long as she was there.

Ga Eul's family was very small, consisting of her parents and grandparents. Her uncles were overseas for work and couldn't make it. Yi Jeong's side numbered nearly in the hundred mark because he had to invite investors and family members. But the only family that really mattered to him was the eight people sitting on the second row.

Everyone was dressed to kill, at least that's what the headlines were going to say the next morning when his wedding was broadcast all over the newspapers and websites. Jan Di and Jun Pyo wore matching colors since they were in the wedding party. Jan Di's hair was curled and piled high on her head and little flowers and crystal pins were woven in. Jun Pyo's hair had been cut so his curls weren't as prominent.

Kyu Lee looked great even if she said she was a balloon. She wore her hair loose and long with a single braid holding the flowers and beads. Even though she was bigger due to her pregnancy, she glowed almost as brightly as the bride. Ji Hoo wore his usual white suit he was famous for with a dusty rose colored tie. He looked equally as happy as his wife but no one knew if it was because he was almost a father or because his friend was getting married.

Normally no one is supposed to look prettier than the bride, but that kind of went out of the window when they saw Eri. Everyone present knew about the hearing impaired woman because all the circles they ran in, everyone talked. So they had known she had had surgery. When she walked down the aisle on the arm of Woo Bin, everyone pretty much lost their minds. Her short hair was curled delicately around the stitches. Instead of pins and flowers, she had a ribbon tied around her head. All of their friends smiled when they watched the couple come down the aisle together. No one had thought they would have made it this far.

When Yi Jeong and Ga Eul came down the aisle, they didn't bother looking at their family and friends gathered around them. Their eyes were set on their friends waiting for them at the altar. They were together for the most important days in their lives. This was their family and they were happy to be together. Ga Eul smiled as she passed the bouquet off to Eri, giving her friend a quick hug before sending her to her seat.

The ceremony was just like any other ceremony would be. They said their vows while making each other laugh. It was a happy and peaceful moment that was photographed by the main photographer and Ga Eul's mother. They exchanged rings and were pronounced man and wife. With everything said and done, they were finally able to start their married life.

Two months later Ga Eul was sitting in the doctor's waiting room holding Ahn Na. They were waiting on Eri and Bin Ji to come out of their appointment. Things had been going well. Bin Ji was healing nicely and Eri had to find a time to have her stitches removed. So they had decided to do it at the same moment Bin Ji came in for his appointment.

The little girl bounced playfully on her lap as she chewed on her shirt sleeve. She had really come out of her shell since she had been going to preschool. She now had more to do with the adults than she had in the past. She wasn't just a daddy's girl anymore.

Eri pulled the door open and gently pushed Bin Ji out before her. She and Dr. Kang talked momentarily before they joined them. Bin Ji immediately ran up to take Ahn Na's hand and the siblings started jumping around like they hadn't a care in the world. Laughing the women gathered them up and headed out the front door.

Ga Eul was patient as they took the bus back to the studio. Eri seemed lost in thought even as she picked at Ahn Na's pigtails. Dr. Kang must have said something to her that she was contemplating. Ga Eul was beginning to recognize the many faces of the woman that had long since eluded her. She understood what Yi Jeong had said four years ago about the woman being so different from them that it would take a lifetime to understand her.

She cuddled Bin Ji as he yammered on about Dr. Kang being a very nice lady and how he wanted her to always be his Mama's doctor. He said she took very good care of her and he wished people were more like that. The little boy was Woo Bin made over.

Ji Hoo and Yi Jeong were waiting for them as they stepped off the bus not too far away from the studio. They scooped up the kids and started off with them. Ga Eul and Eri looked at each other before following after them. They swung open the door to the studio and went inside. Not surprisingly, Woo Bin was sitting beside Min Ho at one of the tables. Without a second thought, Eri went over to him and sat in his lap.

"What did the doctor say?" Yi Jeong asked as he released Bin Ji to run around the studio. Though he spoke out loud, his hands spoke to his friend.

"I haven't lost the hearing I had before the implants, but I can't wear hearing aids for at least six months. So I'm essentially deaf," she replied.

Woo Bin wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her tightly. He signed, "We'll work through it all like we have before."

"I know, but it's going to mean everyone has to learn." She looked pointedly at Min Ho.

The man waved his hands in the air. "I'm already learning. I can talk somewhat."

"Somewhat isn't good enough. In this family, you have to be able to do anything," Yi Jeong said strictly.

"I'll learn, I'll learn."

Ji Hoo's phone rang and pulled it out to check caller ID. He swiped right and answered. "Hello, Jan Di." He listened for a moment before he stood up and handed Ahn Na to Yi Jeong. "I'll be right there." He shoved his phone in his pocket. He was halfway to the door when he remembered. "Kyu Lee's in labor."

Then he was gone, leaving the others to watch the dust settle after him. No one said a word because they knew how stressed he was about his baby. They just hoped he was born safely and quickly.

"Ga Eul, take her." Yi Jeong handed the little girl off again as he stood up. He took Eri's hands next and drew her up. "Come on. Let's make something."

The three remaining watched as the two artists spun the wheel together, fractured emotions suddenly becoming one.

 **THE END**


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